In July, Heathrow Airport reached new heights as nearly 8 million passengers passed through its terminals, securing its position as Europe’s busiest airport for the first half of the year. Outpacing rivals like Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Paris Charles de Gaulle by millions of passengers, Heathrow retained its gold spot on the European podium.
Before July 2024, Heathrow had never exceeded 1.8 million passengers in a single week. This record was not only surpassed but achieved three weeks in a row, from July 8th to 28th, as the airport continued to set new benchmarks. The week when schools broke up for the summer holiday period saw six of Heathrow’s busiest-ever departure days, with over 140,000 passengers and nearly 140,000 bags leaving the airport daily. Despite challenges such as a global IT outage and illegal protests, the airport maintained smooth operations, thanks to close collaboration with its partners.
Popular summer destinations included Venice and Larnaca, while Doha and Dublin joined the ranks of Dubai and JFK as the latest routes to reach one million passengers traveling to and from Heathrow this year. U.S. destinations also saw a surge, with Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Dallas all experiencing significant boosts.
Heathrow also reported an 8% increase in cargo tonnage in July 2024 compared to the previous year, further solidifying its position as the UK’s leading air cargo hub. This robust performance is vital for the UK economy, driving exports, tourism, and investment across the country.
However, amidst the successes, Heathrow faces challenges. The introduction of the ETA in 2023 has led to the loss of 90,000 transfer passengers on routes operating to and from the seven countries included in the scheme. This has impacted the airport’s hub competitiveness, prompting Heathrow to urge the government to review the inclusion of airside transit passengers to help boost the UK economy.
Reflecting on the airport’s achievements, Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said, “Team GB’s performance in Paris has been an inspiration to the nation and to Team Heathrow. In July, we were smashing a passenger record almost every single day and we’re chasing down our never-before-seen goal of serving 8 million passengers in a single month. I’m proud that although there were a few potential challenges which could have caused us to stumble, our team remained focused on the prize of making every journey better and delivered a medal-winning start to the summer getaway.”
